In the production of decorative sheets and shaped articles made from cured polyester resin as the solid surfacing material, metal parts such as machinery become encrusted with cured and partially cured resin and must be cleaned during regular maintenance. Changing the color of decorative sheets and shaped articles, a common practice for providing consumers with a wide selection of patterns and color choices, further necessitates removing cured/partially cured polyester resin from machinery in order to avoid contaminating a product having a new pattern or color.
Previously, harsh and hazardous organic solvents such as methylene chloride and acetone were used to maintain and clean machinery, tools and other implements used in the production of decorative sheets and shaped articles made of polyester resin. These machinery, tools and parts were primarily cleaned by dipping in the solvent and/or manually wiping with solvent soaked rags to remove the polyester resin residue. The parts cleaning process previously in use was both hazardous and expensive. Even with recovery of the hazardous organic solvent for reuse, a large amount of solvent was still discarded as waste, posing a problem of disposing large quantities of hazardous wastes.